Look Before You Leap
by millie murray
Summary: Two girls get more than they bargained for when they do a spell to bring Envy the homunculus out of the page and into the real world.
1. The shovel

Jessica was a witch. It was a trait passed down through her family since... well she didn't know, but it tended to skip a generation. Her grandmother had it, her mother didn't. When she found out, she was so excited. She wanted to create world peace and put an end to hunger, but grandma told her that the magic wouldn't go that far. So she used it for her own amusement. There was the time she made all the boys in her class fall in love with her, but then she got in trouble when it wore off. They were not happy, to say the least. But the biggest mistake she ever made was something that wasn't even her idea.

Jessica's best friend was named Catharine, or Cathy for short, and one day they were sitting under a tree in the park talking about magic. Cathy was jealous of Jessica's powers, and kept trying to get her to do crazy things with them. This day, they were laughing about the time Jess had made an illusion of a victoria's secret model to tease a boy in their class.

"So," said Cathy. "How real can you make these illusions?"

"Oh, I can make them as real as I want. Sight, sound, smell, touch. I can give them personalities and free will. I can pretty much create a real person if I want. Of course, that girl was just sight, and had no personality or anything..."

"So you can make humonculi?" asked Cathy, innocently. Jess looked at her in surprise. The other girl didn't read a lot, and it was strange to hear big words like that coming out of her mouth.

"Um, yeah, pretty much. Why?" In response, Cathy pulled something out of her bookbag. It was a comic book. Jess looked at the title, _Fullmetal Alchemist._ "What's that?" she asked.

"It's something I've been reading." Cathy opened the book and shoved it in Jess's face. "Can you make one of those?" she asked. Jess looked where her friend was pointing. There were two people in the panel, one an extremely busty woman in a slinky, low cut dress, and the other... Well, she didn't know what to make of her, or was it a him? It was very hard to tell. As if sensing her confusion, Cathy explained.

"The woman is Lust, the man is Envy." _Ah, so it is a man_, thought Jessica. "They're homunculi. I was thinking, it might be fun to bring them to life?" She ended her sentence with a question mark and gave Jess puppy eyes. "Please? For me?" Jess laughed.

"Okay, but if you want the whole thing, personality, and all, I only have the energy to bring one of them out of the book. So pick. Hot Chick or Androgynous Dude?"

"Envy, his name is Envy. And if I can only have one, I'll have him." She stared off into the distance, a dreamy look on her face. Jess nudged her.

"Got a little crush, do we?" Cathy blushed a little and mumbled something that sounded like yes. Jess sighed. When would that girl start crushing on real guys. In her experience, they were a lot more attainable. She let her hands hover over the page and concentrated. This would be easier than making a person from scratch, because all the information was in the book. She didn't even need to know anything about him, she just needed to pull him out. She took a deep breath, said the magic words, and let the spell go. The minute she started, she knew something was wrong. It was taking up way more energy than she had expected, but once the spell was working, there was no stopping it. Jess screamed as the spell pulled every last speck of magic from her, and she slumped against the tree.

"Jess? Are you okay?" Cathy asked.

"What the hell?" Jess yelled. "Who is this guy? He's either a lot bigger than I thought or he's got magic coming out his ears. It used up everything I've got!" Cathy suddenly looked worried.

"You mean you don't have any more magic left? Uh oh." She went very pale and gulped.

"Uh oh? What uh oh? Why are you so scared all of a sudden?" Jess demanded.

"Because," whispered her friend. "Now you can't deal with him." Jess turned around slowly. There he was, lying in a heap, his crazy hair strewn across his face. He was, to all appearances, unconscious. The witch looked at the manga in her hands, and groaned. Why, oh why didn't she read it first? The guy was the villain of the story, and was pretty damn creepy. Luckily, he would be unconscious for an hour or so. Jess called it 'summoning sickness'.

"Okay," she said, trying to remain calm. "We have a while before he wakes up, so we'll drag him back to my place, tie him up..." Cathy's eyes lit up and she grinned mischievously.

"Oohh! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I don't think so, Cathy. Not unless you're thinking of tying him up so he won't try to kill us in self-defence as we beat him to death with a shovel."

"Jess! You can't! He's my favourite character!"

"He's a twisted psycho, Cathy. Besides, if he dies, I'll get my magic back. Otherwise I'll have to wait for it to recharge and I don't have that kind of patience." She grabbed Envy's arms. "Come on, you take his legs." This, at least, her friend agreed with. Cathy grabbed Envy around the knees and together they tried to pick him up. After several tries, they gave up and sat, panting, on the grass.

"Damn, Cathy. He's really heavy for such a skinny guy. What, is he made of lead or something? Okay, you take one arm, I'll take the other arm, and we'll drag him." They did this, and dragged the homunculus down the road, with a lot of effort. They got quite a few strange looks from passersby. Luckily, Jessica's house was close by, and they managed to get him in the front door, and they pushed him down the cellar stairs. He cracked one of the floorboards as he landed. Cathy got the duct tape, and took great glee in wrapping him up in it. She stared down at the unconscious homunculus and ran her fingers over his chest. She smiled a silly fangirl smile and brushed a lock of hair off his face. He was perfect. Cathy was startled out of her reverie by a loud cough. Jessica was standing at the top of the stairs, holding a metal shovel.

"All right, Cathy, get out of the way," she said. Cathy's eyes filled with tears. She flung herself over Envy's body.

"No! I won't let you!" she shouted. Jessica raised the shovel and came down the stairs.

"If you don't get out of the way, I'll have to move you by force," she warned. Cathy just held him tighter. She wasn't going to let anyone be beaten to death with a shovel. Envy groaned and stirred. He was waking up.


	2. The Gasoline

Cathy stared down at the man in her arms, then up at Jessica. The witch was still advancing, shovel raised over her head, eyes flashing. Envy's eyes suddenly snapped open.

"Where the hell am I?" he shouted. He looked around, taking in Cathy, with her long black hair and worried expression, and Jessica, with her short blonde hair, blue eyes, and murderous looks. Then he did something neither of them expected. He laughed. "Oh, you humans are just priceless!" he said. Cathy and Jess exchanged confused looks. "Can't decide what to do with me?" He gave Jess a sweet smile. "Do you really expect to do me in with _that? _Hmm, maybe I'll kill you first." He effortlessly broke the duct tape that Cathy had wrapped him in and stood up. He ruffled Cathy's hair affectionately. "Awww, it was nice of you to protect me like that. Maybe I'll let you live." Without another word, he ran up the stairs, taking Jessica completely off guard and grabbing the shovel away from her. He threw her down the stairs and she landed with her friend in a heap. He grinned from ear to ear. "Now, it's time to have some fun!" he said, and laughed again. It was a chilling sound. Jess grabbed her friend by the arm and dragged her away.

"Come on! Run!" They took off into the basement, running past dusty boxes and old bicycles and piles of random stuff, until they came to the back door, which they quickly opened. Behind them, they heard Envy's footsteps as he followed them through the basement, out the door, up the stairs, and into the garage. Cathy was wide-eyed, staring straight ahead in shock. Both girls were out of breath, and really regretted all those times skipping gym class. If they kept running, they would be caught for sure. Cathy suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Jess, do you any magic left?' The other girl glared at her.

"No, you idiot. I used it all up making your lovely friend. I only have enough for a spark, maybe, but..."

"That's all I need!" shouted Cathy, and picked up the gas can. They heard Envy slowly making his way up the stairs. He was in no hurry. Cathy threw gasoline all over the wooden door, and Jess, seeing her intent, prepared a small spark, the most she could do. Envy was just on the other side, humming to himself. The two girls looked at each other and gulped. As he opened the door, Cathy emptied the can in his face, and Jess threw her spark. As he went up in flames the girls jumped in the car and Jess drove out of there like a maniac, not looking back. The screams of agony coming from behind them told them the gasoline was doing it's work. Jessica glared furiously at her friend.

"Now, talk! Why in the world did you think it would be a good idea to bring Mr. Psycho and his Sideshow Bob haircut into our world? And if you say because he's cute... I will slap you in the face." Cathy stuttered and mumbled for a few seconds and then burst into tears.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "All this is my fault." Jess rolled her eyes. Of course it was her fault. "Jess. We have to hide! He'll come after us! We can stay at my house, there's no one there." Jessica turned the corner quickly and they headed off to the other side of town, where Cathy lived.

Envy picked himself up off the floor of the garage. Those bitches. That had really hurt. And the fire had almost killed him a second time before going out. Well, he thought. He would just have to go after them. The tall one, who had threatened him with the shovel, she would die first. He grinned as he imagined removing her limbs one by one. It would be fun. But as for the other one, she made his blood boil. She seemed like such a little pushover, right up until she lit him on fire.

He would make her death last a very long time.


	3. Thumbs

Jess was driving so fast she almost went right past Cathy's driveway. The car came to a screeching halt, and Cathy almost hit her head on the dashboard. They looked back. There ws no sign of the homunculus.

"What are we going to do?" Cathy asked. She was breathing heavily, and looked like she was going to cry. Jess reached out a hand and patted her on the shoulder, trying to look conforting.

"Um. There there" she said, a little uncertainly. "Everything's going to be all right. We just have to wait it out, that's all. We'll hide here, and once my powers regenerate, I'll take care of him, okay?" Cathy nodded. The two girls got out of the car and walked up the driveway.

"But what if he finds us? He'll probably want to kill us, I mean, he's a psycho and... Oh my god, I set him on fire!"This last phrase was said just as Jessica opened the door. Cathy's brother Eric and a group of his friends were sitting on the couch watching a movie. They all stared at her. Eric opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again. His girlfriend Rose was the one to ask.

"You set someone on fire!" Jess glared at them and hustled Cathy upstairs. They went in her room and locked the door, Cathy sitting down on the bed in a miserable heap.

"They think I killed someone. Well, I did kill someone, but he got better. And now he wants to kill us!" Her breaths came in ragged gulps. Jess sat down beside her, not knowing what to do. She was also scared, and angry. She was angry at Cathy for getting them into this mess, and afraid, because she was without her power. She didn't know how she would deal with Envy without it. But she didn't say this. She didn't want to upset her friend. Instead she tried to reassure her.

"Don't worry. He doesn't know where you live. He's disoriented in this new world, and he probably won't want to come after us again, after what you pulled. Getting set on fire is not very fun, after all."

Envy looked up and down the street. Well, this didn't seem so strange after all. The cars were different, the fashions were different, but he could easily get used to that. The first thing he needed to do was find those girls. He went back into the house. Hmmm, yes, there were pictures on the wall. That blonde girl, and two adults who must be her parents. He picked up a picture of the woman. This would do, for now. There was a moment of surprise, like there always was, when he looked in the mirror and saw the girl's mother staring back at him. He got over it quickly. Then he went upstairs to the bedrooms. It was obvious which one belonged to the blonde. It had blue christmas lights strung up around the windows and a poster of a rather sinister-looking clown on the wall. Envy grinned. So, for all the tough-girl posturing, she was just as whimsical as any other teenager. She probably kept a diary, too. He lifted up the mattress of her bed, then checked under the pillow. There was a book hidden in the pillowcase, with a rather flimsy lock that he easily ripped off. He flipped through the pages, looking for a reference to the black-haired girl who had set him on fire. There was an entry that looked likely. _Today Cathy and I went to the beach. Got sunburn on face. Cathy doesn't burn. Sun doesn't bother her, even with that thick black hair of hers. Wish I was not blonde and pale._

Yes, that was the one. Envy went downstairs and looked in the family phone book, and sure enough, there it was. _Catharine Namagoose, 26 crowley st_. 'Stupid humans'. He muttered under his breath. That's probably where the girls had run off to. He committed the number and address to memory and stepped out the door. He smiled. The sun was shining, birds were singing, a bunch of children were playing in the street. He looked at them. Maybe he could come back later and murder them. That would be fun. But for now, he had some hunting to do. 26, crowley st. He stopped an elderly woman and asked for directions, and soon came to the house. Stupid humans. They had even left their car right outside, where anyone could see it. He grinned evilly and knocked on the door. A boy with a ponytail opened it.

"Hey, Mrs. Fletcher! Are you looking for Jess?" he asked brightly. "Cuz I think she's gone crazy. Her and Cathy came in, mentioned setting someone on fire, and haven't come downstairs since. Do you know what's going on?" Envy put a shocked look on Mrs. Morgan's face.

"They set someone on fire! Oh no! I have to speak with my daughter right away. Can you go get her?" The boy nodded and turned to his friends on the sofa.

"I'm just going to get Jess, her mother's here." He walked up the stairs and knocked on his sister's door. "Hey, Cathy?" Cathy and Jess were looking through fashion magazines when Eric knocked. Cathy opened the door. Her brother looked worried. "Hey, sis," he said. "Jess, your mom's come to get you, but..." Cathy went pale. Eric continued hesitantly. "She's different, I mean, she's acting strange. She didn't look like she recognized me. And, well, she seems to have lost her british accent." Jess was confused. Her mother had been born in england, and it was apparent. She couldn't speak with an american accent if she tried. Cathy grabbed Jess's arm.

"We have to get out of here! It's Envy!"

"He's a shapeshifter?" Jess hissed. "Why didn't you tell me?" Eric stared.

"What is going on? What is that creature down there?"

"Well..." said Cathy. "It's Envy. The character from Fullmetal Alchemist. Jess brought him to life." Jess glared at her.

"Yeah, well you were the one who set him on fire." Eric's eyes were getting wider and wider. They looked like they were going to pop right out of his head. He closed them and took a deep breath.

"I knew it! I've told you a million times that you shouldn't use magic so trivially. But I suppose that doesn't matter now. I'll distract it while you climb out the window. Go!" The girls wasted no time. Cathy opened up the window and Jess climbed out, with the brunette following closely behind. Suddenly, they heard screaming. Cathy almost went back, but her friend pulled her out the window and down onto the roof.

Eric heard the screams and ran downstairs, dreading what he would find. When he got there however, he breathed a sigh of relief. There were no dead bodies, no blood. In fact, there was no one at all. The front door was wide open, and all the furniture had been pushed to the corners of the room, as if to make room for something. He didn't like this.

"Rose? James? Chad?" he called. There was no answer except for a small chuckle. He turned around. Mrs. Morgan was standing behind him, holding Rose. The girl was unconscious. Jess's mother smiled, a horrible smile full of teeth.

"I got tired of waiting. Your friends ran away. Except for this one. She fainted when she saw me. You humans have no survival instinct. Now don't come any closer. Tell me where they went, or I'll chop off her left hand and eat it. You're Cathy's brother, I presume?" Mrs. Morgan flickered, disappeared, and in her place stood a strange woman, or was it a man? Eric couldn't tell. Her hair reminded him of a palm tree, and her outfit... most definitely female, he decided. "What are you staring at?" Envy snapped. "Tell me where your sister is so I can kill her!" Her left hand, the one not holding Rose, quivered and changed into a blade. Rose opened her eyes and screamed. Eric shouted at Envy.

"Please. They're not in the house! I don't know where they are!" This, at least, was true. Silently, he cursed his little sister for involving him in this. Envy grinned, her eyes glinting.

"Ohh, I was hoping you'd say that," she raised her arm to strike, but Eric took the opportunity to rush at the woman and dig his thumbs into her eyes. She screamed and dropped Rose, and as she was falling, he punched her in the gut. Quickly, he took his girlfriend by the arm and they ran out the front door. Unfortunately, Envy recovered quickly and ran after them. The creature punched him in the face so hard he lost consciousness and tumbled to the ground.

Jess and Cathy were halfway across the block when they heard someone running after them. Jess turned, ready to fight, but saw that it was Rose. The girl called out to them. Cathy was about to run to her, but Jess held her back.

"How do we know that's not Envy?" she said. Rose started crying.

"No! I'm not that. Oh my god! It was horrible! It... it's got Eric. And it said that it's going to torture him until you give yourselves up!" She collapsed in a quivering heap on the ground. Cathy helped her up.

"Go home, Rose. You don't want to be involved in this. We're going to rescue him. Don't worry." Rose nodded and took off in the direction of her house. As soon as she was out of earshot, Cathy broke down in tears. "Envy has my brother!" she cried. "He's going to torture him! This is all my fault!" Jess put an arm around her friend.

"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do then, is there?"

"What?"

"We'll just have to rescue him, that's all."


End file.
